Adoption vs Tech Investments: What McKinsey's Latest Report Means for AI Leaders

A new report from McKinsey & Company may stop some executives in their tracks.

Drawing insights from the World Economic Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network, a group of trailblazing companies recognized for their success in tech-enabled transformation, the report uncovered a powerful pattern:

These leading organizations spend 2.5 times more on adoption and scaling efforts than on the technology itself.

That’s $5 for change enablement for every $2 for tools.

For any company struggling to understand why their AI initiative isn’t producing results, this might be the answer: it’s not about the tech, it’s how you manage your workforce through the adoption journey.

The report highlights how these “Lighthouse” companies invest heavily in structured adoption programs. They train teams, rewire processes, redesign roles, and ensure that new technologies are actually used, correctly, confidently, and consistently, across the organization.

This emphasis on human-centered adoption is exactly what Caspius, LLC is built around. The report’s section, “Building adoption programs to make digital stick,” is particularly aligned with the work we do.

The main takeaway is, if your AI strategy prioritizes tools over people, it’s time to rethink your priorities. We help companies shift from rollout to real results by making adoption a strategic discipline, not an afterthought.

Want to learn how? Let’s talk.